Slight flex causes power off

[HemiMoparGuy1981]

Hey all,

I have a moto droid turbo 2 and it may or may not have been thrown forcibly at the windshield. Now the slightest flexing of the phone causes it to power off. So even walking with it in my pocket is bad enough to turn it off. Is there something that can be replaced to fix the issue, or should I start looking for a new phone? I am very skilled with electronics, so I can very likely do the repair myself, just need to know what to replace.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Howdy!
If it wasn't in a case get a new phone.

 

[HemiMoparGuy1981]

It was in otterbox defender

 

[dontpanicbobby]

How hard was it thrown then? My ex-supervisor used to pitch his iPhone at the concrete floor to bounce in a trashcan 2, maybe 3 yards away. Elevation was involved too but; Come on...
If it bounced off a windshield it must have been in the front seating area?

 

[Hadron]

Battery contacts are the first thing that come to mind (if a slight flex could break the circuit even very briefly that would shut the phone down).

 

[HemiMoparGuy1981]

How hard was it thrown then? My ex-supervisor used to pitch his iPhone at the concrete floor to bounce in a trashcan 2, maybe 3 yards away. Elevation was involved too but; Come on...
If it bounced off a windshield it must have been in the front seating area?

well, it gets thrown a lot, even from a 35 ft high scissor lift. This particular throw it wedged itself down in between the windshield and dash, like I had to really reef on it wiggleing back and forth to get it free

 

[HemiMoparGuy1981]

Battery contacts are the first thing that come to mind (if a slight flex could break the circuit even very briefly that would shut the phone down).

That very well could be,weakend the solder joint now a slight flex breaks the contact. Thank you.

 

[svim]

I'm leaning more towards looking for a new phone, given the situation. You might get lucky when tearing down your phone you'll see an obvious quick fix (i.e. a loose connector that just needs to be re-seated) but since this involves actual physical damage it's also likely there could be other more latent issues (as you mentioned, something like a damaged solder joint) that will pop up later. Smartphone internals are rarely modular so in that case you'll need to replace the motherboard itself. The iFixit site has some good pictorials you'll encounter if you do opt to open up your phone:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Motorola+Droid+Turbo+2+Midframe+Replacement/73554
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Motorola+Droid+Turbo+2+Midframe+Replacement/112665
At least for now it's still running, as long as you don't flex it, so you can back up all your data while shopping around for a suitable replacement.

 

[Thom]

What else did you do to abuse this phone?

The only phone I know of that was designed for this king of treatment was the Moto Z2 Force. You might consider picking up one and trying it out.

This is the one with the guaranteed unbreakable screen. If the screen goes bad they will replace it.

The one drawback it has is a screen covering that is softer plastic then most phones. It can be scratched or chipped while the screen underneath continues to operate.

… Thom

 

[HemiMoparGuy1981]

What else did you do to abuse this phone?

The only phone I know of that was designed for this king of treatment was the Moto Z2 Force. You might consider picking up one and trying it out.

This is the one with the guaranteed unbreakable screen. If the screen goes bad they will replace it.

The one drawback it has is a screen covering that is softer plastic then most phones. It can be scratched or chipped while the screen underneath continues to operate.

… Thom

This phone is supposed to have the 5 layer unbreakable screen as well. I learned of it from shopping for my wife's phone, we got her the Moto Z Play. Is the Z2 different?

 

[Thom]

I have been using the Moto Z2 Force since the day it was released. I believe it is the only one that is guaranteed unbreakable. There is no Moto Z3 Force yet. That might be an indication of the future.

The only thing I don't like about it is the outermost layer is softer than the outermost layer on most phones. I have a replacement for it but have not yet gotten it installed.

An alternative for you to consider … budget the replacement of the phone you use every year. Your need seems to be a lot heavier than most.

… Thom